Roma
Connect
Roma Connect Final Conference Amplifies Voices of Roma Women
On the 8th of October 8, 2024, in Barcelona, the Roma Connect Final Conference gathered over 90 participants in a powerful stand against anti-Roma racism and in support of Roma women’s voices from Hungary, Romania, Greece, and Spain. Hosted at the Barcelona City Hall and broadcast online, the conference brought together advocates, policymakers, and Roma community leaders to discuss challenges and solutions in combating discrimination and fostering inclusion.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง with opening remarks from ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ รจ๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ, who reaffirmed the cityโs dedication to equality and diversity. ๐๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐-๐๐ข๐ฅ of Drom Kotar Mestipen and ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐๐๐รญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐, Director for Equality of Treatment and Non-Discrimination, highlighted Roma Connectโs vital role in amplifying Roma women’s voices.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ addressed ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ซ๐. Dr. Lena de Botton presented the “Upstander” approach, emphasizing visible support for victims and community-driven, non-violent responses to counter online hate. This method fosters empathy, safety, and positive engagement, reducing fear and promoting constructive dialogue.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ brought compelling ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ, including Sacri Fernandez (๐๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ง), Petrovici Adina-Petronela and Arslan Marioara-Adina (๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐), and Lorena Imre and Boglรกrka Orsรณs (๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฒ). Their stories of resilience and discrimination served as a powerful reminder of the challenges faced by Roma women and a call to action for further advocacy and inclusion.
We want the women to be able to influence and combat existing
antigypsyism discrimination.
Roma Connect is european sponsored project, with the main goal to connect grassroots Roma women across four european countries, and raise awareness against antigypsyism and boost their leadership capacity.
Objectives
The general objective of the Project is to empower and support grassroots Roma women by creating a European network, where they have a common and safe space to support and learn from eachother, and to launch a antigypsysim campaign. The end goal is to have an institutional impact, both on the national and the European level.
- To create trust between Roma and non-Roma communities.
- To create a European Network for the Roma women in all four countries.
- To foster right awareness through training activities.
News
What is Roma Connect
Roma Connect is a European project involving organizations from Spain, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. Its goal is to empower Roma women by creating a supportive European network. This network provides a safe space for learning and launching an antigypsyism campaign. The project aims to impact national and European policies by engaging with public institutions, helping Roma women influence and combat discrimination.
Take a look at our empowering videos on combating antigypsyism
Campaign
The Campaign is the heart of the Project!
One of the results of this project has been the launching of a campaign against gypsyism at national level, in the four countries of the consortium, and at European level. The content of the campaign has been discussed, designed and decided by the Roma women themselves, with the support and help of professionals and staff of the organisations, in order to achieve the greatest possible impact.ย
The antiypsyism campaign is active!
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Consortium
Theย Roma Connectย Project involves four organisations from
Hungary, Greece, Romania, and Spain.
DROM KOTAR MESTIPEN
coordinator of the Project.
Alternative Innovative Development (A.I.D)
AMRITA
Intercultural Institute Timisoara